Wheeler i-Riser Speed 45: use unfortunately limited

Actually, it is very pleasing that there are manufacturers who have the courage to launch an electric mountain bike on the market that is equipped with a motor support up to 45 km/h. Such a speed e-mountain bike promises a lot of fun after all. The catch is that you can not use such a nice off-road part in the forest, which means in plain language, the use as a mountain bike is hardly possible, unless on private land. Both the forest law, the road traffic law §43 paragraph 1, as well as the signalization ordinance and the ordinance on the technical requirements for road vehicles (VTS) put a legal stop to the endeavor. There are 1001 legal barriers. In addition, not everyone is happy with speed e-bikes not even on bike paths, this has been a political issue for some time. In the end result, it means with today's law: A speed e-MTB you can ride on trails only without a motor! Ha, ha, how funny! In Germany, it is not better, but rather even stricter. That's the reason why manufacturers hardly produce such e-bikes, because who should buy them. In addition, in the event of an accident or damage, the insurance company threatens to take recourse against the driver. This is annoying, but as long as no one pushes for a change in legislation, it will stay that way for now. A mountain bike belongs on natural ground and not on the road, but the model here is almost "only" usable on the road.

Rafael Walter from Product Management at Intercycle explained to us why they decided to launch this e-speed MTB.

"It's like the users of SUVs, you drive them in the city because they offer more comfort and not because of the terrain. Our Speed E-MTB is aimed at a target group such as commuters and city dwellers, who use the E-MTB on the road and on cycle paths as permitted by law. There are also numerous bike paths in Switzerland that are not asphalted, but covered with gravel or other material. On such surfaces, our i-Riser Speed 45 has an additional advantage."